Nobody But You

Good News, Bad News

Well friends, I stand by my Twitter sentiments.

Fuck the writers of that show. I didn't watch the finale, but heard there were dream sequences and flashforwards that viewers are supposed to take whatever meaning they want from them. It was a shitty and unexplainable thing to breadcrumb Surrera fans for three seasons, keep our hopes alive and then not deliver in the final season when they 100% could have.

Anyway, I'm committed to giving us the happy ending we deserve so... it might take time, but if you keep reading, I'll keep writing. – Ash

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It didn't matter how many years you had under your belt as a doctor, looking into the eyes of hopeful loved ones while the uncertainty of surgery hovered like a storm cloud, never got easier.

Even though most surgeries had routine results, it was always a gamble. There were so many unknowns at each stage that, unless a patient was already in recovery having made it through with flying colors, Bailey always felt a little like bad news bear. She didn't give assurances, couldn't make promises.

She'd learned that hard lesson before.

There was nothing worse than telling a group of anxious friends and family, "They're out of the woods," only to later have something go terribly wrong.

And this patient wasn't just anyone. This was Andrea Herrera. Daughter of THE Pruitt Herrera and the chosen family to every set of eyes staring at her now... including her husband.

Huddled together in the cramped hospital waiting room, antiseptic and stale coffee hanging in their air, Bailey paused for a moment to gather herself.

Wishful thinking was that she could assuage some of their worries. The surgery was going well and it seemed both mother and baby would be fine, but the problem was...there was still an incalculable number of things that could cause a turn for the worse.

Though the temptation was high, she resisted making a mental list of them.

Sometimes in a crisis just knowing all possible outcomes that one could expect was helpful, but that wasn't the case here. This group had faced so many losses individually and collectively. They didn't need anyone throwing lighter fluid on the existing blaze of fear that was no doubt raging within them all.

Bailey let her eyes graze over the tall man in front of her. Physically so imposing, a paragon of strength, but the anguish in Robert's eyes said he was about to slip from the monkey bars. She glanced quickly off to the right where her husband stood and saw his slight head nod of reassurance.

"We still have one, maybe two hours left in surgery... and I don't like to make promises I can't keep... so I don't..." Bailey began.

He didn't want fluff. Hard facts, data. Something tangible and concrete that he could grab onto. That's what he needed. "Just...it's okay. I can handle it," Robert said.

Nodding the experienced surgeon continued.

"The shrapnel missed Andy's uterus and all other major organs except the spleen. She suffered a grade 3 splenic laceration."

The gasp in the room was audible. They weren't all doctors, but every single one of them had enough medical knowledge to know how serious damage to the spleen can be. Blood loss and infections could be deadly.

Bailey continued.

"Lost a lot of blood. Needed a transfusion. BP dropped dangerously low for them both. And with abdominal trauma in pregnant women, we get concerned about placental abruption and preterm labor, but the uterus is intact and no tears in the lining which is a miracle."